Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language

John Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, published in 1808, was a significant work in lexicography. Unlike many dictionaries of its time that focused on "classical purity," Jamieson included quotations of humble origin, marking a turning point in how dictionaries were compiled. This approach, which embraced "mean" sources, was highly regarded, with one critic in 1835 calling Jamieson's Scottish dictionary the "only good English dictionary we possess".1

The Scottish National Dictionary is a 10-volume work containing Scottish words in use since approximately 1700. It was published between 1931 and 1976. This dictionary, along with the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (covering language before 1700), was digitized and made available online in 2004 as the Dictionary of the Scots Language.2